Experienced

Katelyn Gleason Klapper, CEP

Educational Consultant & Founder

Katelyn Gleason Klapper has more than 25 years of experience working in higher education and college consulting, bringing families a perspective from both sides of the college admissions desk. Katelyn began consulting in 2004 and founded College Options in 2007. For 6 years, Katelyn provided college counseling services to students at Dynamy Internship Year, a gap program in Worcester, MA, where she also developed curriculum and provided program support for Dynamy’s Youth Academy, an access-to-college program for Worcester-area students. Prior to beginning her consulting work, she spent a total of 12 years working on the campuses of Bentley College, WPI, and Boston University (where she managed the university’s West Coast admissions office).

Katelyn volunteers her time with Boston’s METCO program, College Summit, and her town’s education foundation. She is also an instructor for UC Irvine, Division of Continuing Education’s program in educational consulting. Katelyn currently sits on the board, as Ethics Chair, of the Higher Education Consultants Association (HECA), is a commissioner and board member of the American Institute of Certified Educational Planners (AICEP), and is an active member of the Independent Educational Consultant’s Association (IECA).

In her never-ending quest for building college knowledge, she has visited more than 300 campuses in 35 states and abroad. Katelyn is a Certified Educational Planner and has a certificate in college counseling from UCLA Extension. She completed graduate work at Boston University’s College of Communication and has a BA from Scripps College.

Catie Costello, M.Ed., M.A.T

Educational Consultant

Catie is an Educational Consultant at College Options, responsible for our newest offerings in college affordability/merit aid planning. Catie also provides transition to college support for students with learning differences. She has 30 years of experience in a breadth of educational settings that include elementary, corporate, and higher education. Catie began her career representing Vanderbilt University, and then Kellogg School of Business at Northwestern University, as an Admissions Officer. For the past sixteen years, Catie has taught in the Sudbury Public Schools, and she first joined College Options in 2014 as an Essay and Interview Specialist.

Catie values her panoramic perspective of the educational experience as she counsels her clients’ transition into young adulthood, and as a lover of travel, has visited more than 100 college campuses. Catie earned her M.Ed. in Administration, Planning, and Social Policy from Harvard University, a Masters in Early Childhood Education from Cambridge College, and a BA from Vanderbilt University.

Michelle Kaelin, M.Ed.

Associate Consultant & Writing Specialist

Michelle began working at College Options in 2010 as a Writing Specialist. Since then, she has expanded her role in her work with students by conducting mock college interviews, assisting with Common Application preparation and resume development, and delivering several components of the College Options workshop series.

Always passionate about working with teens, Michelle has taught high school English, served as an advisor with Dynamy Internship Year (Worcester, MA), and as an advisor and manager at MY TURN, Inc. (Brockton, MA). She also taught English Composition as an adjunct faculty member at Becker College and worked as a youth consultant at the Worcester Center for Crafts. She is a self-employed freelancer and self-identified grammar geek. Michelle has worked on a variety of projects, including copyediting clients’ self-published novels, ghostwriting blogposts, and serving as copyeditor and contributing writer for a local online magazine. Michelle graduated from Holy Cross College with a BA in English and earned her M.Ed. from Tufts University.